MARQUETTE — A successful basketball season concluded for the Cedarville boys Tuesday night as they dropped a 71-57 decision to the North Central Jets in a Class D state quarterfinal contest at Marquette HIgh School.

North Central (23-3) advances to the state semifinals at Michigan State University's Breslin Center, where it will face top-ranked Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (24-2) Thursday at 6 p.m.

Tri-Unity Christian earned its trip to East Lansing by whipping Frankfort 57-33 in another quarterfinal Tuesday.

Cedarville (22-2) trailed 16-11 after the first quarter.

With 25 seconds gone in the second stanza, senior center Keith Bouschor set a pick for sophomore guard Joe Duncan. Bouschor then used a nifty spin move to receive Duncan's pass prior to hitting a layup and trimming the Trojan deficit to 16-13.

Nearly six minutes passed, however, before the Trojans scored again. Junior Dan Stenback ended that drought by hitting a jump shot from the lane. By then, however, Cedarville was trailing 30-15.

"We didn't make some baskets in the second quarter, then we started rushing things and that got us out of rhythm," said Cedarville coach Dave Duncan. "North Central is a good team. They made some shots early and we were fighting from behind all night."

Cedarville, playing in its seventh quarterfinal game in eight years, scored the last two buckets in the second frame. But the Trojans still trailed 32-19 at halftime.

North Central led by as much as 47-28 late in the third quarter when junior guard Tyler Polfus sank a pair of free throws.

The Trojans responded with a 14-6 run, climbing within 53-42 on a 23-foot jumper from the right wing by senior guard Josh Hester less than two minutes into the fourth frame.

Cedarville then had several chances to trim its deficit to single digits, but failed to convert.

The Trojans, who like to press and play at a rapid pace, were simply unable to find their comfort zone on this night.

"We did a great job on defense," said North Central coach Adam Mercier. "We were able to take away their transition points. I would like to think our team speed had something to do with that. We've been playing loose and free and fast and physical all season, and we plan to play that way Thursday."

The Jets also kept Cedarville at bay in the fourth quarter by sinking 13-of-15 free throws. They finished 20-of-23 from the charity stripe and committed 12 turnovers. The Trojans were 7-of-14 at the line and had 11 miscues.

"That's an excellent job by our guys," said Mercier. "Our lead stayed between 10 and 14 points most of the night and the free throws helped us maintain it. We knew they could put a lot of points up in a hurry. We didn't want to allow them to get on a roll. We wanted to put the ball on the glass and not turn it over."